1957 Ambassador Air disaster
The 1957 Ambassador Air Disaster was an airplane crash that took place on Thursday 16 May, 1957 at Van Draak International Airport. 26 people died in the accident, including the bulk of the star Grijzestad Strijders team. Background Grijzestad Strijders was at the time the best football club in the country (many of their players participated in the 1954 World Football Championship, where Brunant finished second). They dominated the 1. Liga (winning in 1954 and 1956) and had won the Johan II Cup in 1956 as well as the Supercup, completing the historic first treble. In 1957 Grijzestad won the league again and were the undisputed top team in Brunant. In late April, the team organized a match in France to play French champions AS Saint-Etienne and see which titular club was the best. A lot of hype surrounded that match, with the veteran Grijzestad team tipped by many to win the match. It would be later revealed that coach Edwin Morris did not want to fly, but the club's owners persuaded him to. The accident On 16 May, the whole Grijzestad team, the coach and assistant, plus their wives and a trio of news reporters took off on an Ambassador Air flight at 7:30 PM. They were scheduled to fly at 6:30, but some problems on the plane caused a 1 hour delay. That day, rain was pouring down hard and there was a really heavy wind, but they were cleared to fly. The plane took off normally but it was discovered that the altimeter was broken. The pilots, who had experience, estimated the pale's altitude and believed they were at a good enough height. But, it was getting darker, rain was coming down harder and visibility was greatly reduced. Some time later, a powerful gust of wind sent the plane upwards and the pilot tried to compensate with steering down. But, the plane was much lower than thought and it quickly crashed into a field. An hour after, police and a medical team had shown up, and they managed to rescue the co-pilot, a stewardess and the team's reserve keeper. Aftermath Initially the police put all the blame on the pilot and co-pilot, for flying out in the storm and killing the team. The co-pilot lost his lisence and would not fly again. But, further investigation showed that Ambassador Air pushed the pilots to fly, despite their concerns. They wanted to get the team as quickly as possible to France and as the hopes of the nation rested on that game, did not want to have them late. In the following weeks, Brunant mourned the loss of on the best teams in the 1. Liga's history. Arguably the 20th century's best team had been wiped out and their replacements could not match. The planned 1958 World Football Championship (to be held in Spain) was ultimately cancelled since Brunant lost much of its team and they were unwilling to fly after this. For Grijzestad, the consequences were immediate and profound. Though they rebuilt their team, they were not the dominant force and in 1957-58 finished at a record low position of 12th. Between 1958 and 1970, they would only win two titles (in the last 3 years they won four trophies). In 2007 Giovanni Spatola put a monument in the stadium for remembering 50 years of the loss. In 2013, after 55 years, the whole current national football team put a second monument together with President Gert Henneman. Casualties See also: *Grijzestad Strijders Category:Football Category:Aviation Category:Grijzestad Strijders Category:Events Category:Disasters